Book Alert / Leaderless Jihad

Leaderless Jihad -- Terror Networks in the Twenty-First Century by Mark Sageman, UPenn '08, 199 pages, ISBN #0812240650. Index, bibliography, source notes, unillustrated.

Rather than being the quarterback for an international terrorist network, Al Qaeda has fostered a diaspora of similar groups, which operate largely independently and without much internal communication, according to Marc Sageman, a forensic psychiatrist and counterterrorism consultant. That said, the Internet is a font of inspiration and guidance to these far-flung organizations and allows them a sense of solidarity.

Sageman uses historical parallels to argue that "jihadism is self-limiting in terms of both structural capability and appeal." Interestingly, he believes "its followers will turn away from violence as a means of expressing their discontent."  In the meantime, here's how he counsels those charged with counterterrorist enforcement: "Homeland security...is best accomplished through a strategy of bringing to justice real terrorists, containing potential terrorists, and exercising restraint with respect to the Muslim community."